The Dual Status of Israel in Romans 11:28

TMSJ 16/1 (Spring 2005) 57-71
THE DUAL STATUS OF ISRAEL
IN ROMANS 11:28
Matt Waymeyer *
Three ma jor view s of the identity of “all Israel” in Rom 11 :26 have
concluded that “all Israel” refers to the church, to the elect remnant of believing
Jews during the present age, and to the ethnic nation of Israel. Romans 11:28 is an
often neglected verse th at helps in d eterm ining which of the views is correct,
because the pro nou n “th ey” in v. 28 refers to the same people as the “all Israel”
of v. 26. Since context requires that the pronoun “you” in v. 28 refers to G entiles,
the “enemies” and the “they” of v. 28 m ust be ethnic Jews, thereby eliminating the
possibility of “all Israel” being the church. The two clauses in v. 28 describe what
is true of ethnic Israel at the same time, not one condition prior to Israel’s salvation
and ano ther su bseq uen t to that salvation. That eliminates the view that “all Israel”
dep icts an elect remnant of believing Jews, because they could hardly be enemies
according to the gospel after becoming believers. The view that “all Israel” is the
ethnic nation of Israel has v. 28 speaking of Israel’s dual status: simultaneously they
are enemies according to the gospel and beloved because of the fathers. In her
current rejection of Christ, the nation still enjoys the irrevocable corporate election
by G od. T hat id entifica tion o f “all Isra el” is therefore correct.
*****
The role of the nation Israel in the redemp tive plan of Go d is a significant
issue, and one that has received much attention through the years. A fundamental
question in the discussion involves the future of Israel and whe ther or not she has a
future. According to Herma n Ridderbos, “The church … as the people of the New
Covenant has taken the place of Israel, and national Israel is nothing other than the
emp ty shell from which the pearl has been removed and which has lost its function
in the history of redemp tion.” 1 In similar fashion, Bruce K. Waltke asserts that
“national Israel an d its law ha ve be en pe rmanently replaced by the church and the
*
Matt Waymeyer is Senior Pastor of Community Baptist Church in Vista, California, and is an
alumnus of The Master’s Seminary.
1
Herman Ridderbos, Paul: An Outline of His Theology (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1975) 354–55.
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New Co venant.” 2
Is this true? Did Israel permanently forfeit her privileged status by rejecting
the Messiah and the gosp el? O r is she still God’s chosen nation? P ut another way,
Is there yet a future hope for the nation of Israel in the redemptive plan of God?
THRE E VIEWS O F ROM ANS 11:26A
At the forefront of the discussion stands the Ap ostle P aul’s declaratio n in
Rom 11:26a: “And thus all Israel will be saved.” As interpreters have considered this
verse, three main views have emerged regarding the identity of the “all Israel” that
will be saved : (1) “all Israel” is the church, consisting of both Jews and Gentiles who
are saved throughout the present age; (2 ) “all Israel” is the elect remnant of believing
Jews within the ethnic nation of Israel, which is saved throughout the present age;
and (3) “all Israel” refers to the ethnic nation of Israel, which will be saved at the end
of the present age.
View 1: “All Israel” Is the Church
The first view is that the “all Israel” of Rom 11:26 consists of both Jews
and Gentiles who together constitute the church of Jesus of Christ. In other words,
“all Israel” equals the church, which is the Israel of God.3 According to this
interpretation, even though a partial hardening has come up on ethnic Israel, a
remnant of believing Jews is still being saved throughout the present age. At the
same time, Gentiles also are being grafted in among the Jews as they turn to Christ
and are saved. In the end, the full number of those who are saved, “coming in from
both the Jewish and the Gentile communities, will constitute the final Israel of
Go d.” 4 In this manner, Paul writes in Rom 11:26, all the Israel of God will be saved.
According to this view, Rom 11:2 6 consists of “a typ ically Pauline
2
Bruce K. Waltke, “Kingdom Promises as Spiritual,” in Continuity and Discontinuity: Perspectives
on the Relationship Between the Old and New Testaments, ed. John S. Feinberg (Westchester, Ill.:
Crossway, 1988) 274. According to Waltke, “no clear passage teaches the restoration of national Israel,”
and “the Jewish nation no longer has a place as the special people of God” because “that place has been
taken by the Christian community which fulfills God’s purposes for Israel” (ibid., 274–75) [emphasis
in the original].
3
This is the view of John Calvin, Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, trans. and ed. John
Owen (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993) 437; Lee Irons, “Paul’s Theology of Israel’s Future: A Nonmillennial
Interpretation of Romans 11,” Reformation & Revival Journal 6 (1997):101–26; O. Palmer Robertson,
The Israel of God: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow (Phillipsburg, N.J.: P & R, 2000) 167–92; N. T.
Wright, The Climax of the Covenant: Christ and the Law in Pauline Theology (Minneapolis: Fortress,
1992) 231–57; Marten H. Woudstra, “Israel and the Church: A Case for Continuity,” in Continuity and
Discontinuity 235–37; Philip E. Hughes, “The Olive Tree of Romans XI,” Evangelical Quarterly 20
(1948):44–45; Ralph P. Martin, Reconciliation: A Study of Paul’s Theology (Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
1989) 131–35, 194.
4
Robertson, The Israel of God 188. Robertson’s view in The Israel of God is a departure from his
previous position that “all Israel” refers to all the elect people within the ethnic community of Israel (see
O. Palmer Robertson, “Is There a Distinctive Future for Ethnic Israel in Romans 11?,” in Perspectives
on Evangelical Theology, ed. Kenneth S. Kantzer and Stanley N. Gundry [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1979]
209–27).
The Dual Status of Israel in Romans 11:28
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polemical redefinition” 5 of Israel in which the word “Israel” no longer refers to the
ethnic nation. As Irons exp lains, “Paul has literally rede fined the term ‘Israel’ to
refer to the New Testam ent church by arguing that God’s irrevocable pro mises to
Israel are fulfilled b y means of the salvation of bo th Jew and Gentile in the church
age.” 6 In this way, then, “all Israel” in Rom 11:26 refers to all the elect of God,
whether Jew or Gentile, who are saved throughout the present age.
View 2: “All Israel” Is the Remnant
The second view is that “all Israel” in Rom 11:26 refers to all the elect Jews
within the ethnic nation of Israel. 7 In other words, “all Israel” is the believing
remnant which is saved throughout the present age. According to this position, the
hardening of the nation Israel is only partial, and God will continue to save a
remnant from amon g the Jews until the end of the present age . The designation “all
Israel,” then, refers to the totality of that believing remnant of ethnic Jews, 8 and Rom
11:26 affirms “that there will always be a remnant of believing Jews until the end of
time.” 9
According to this view, the mystery alluded to in Rom 11:25 is not the fact
of the remnant’s salvation, but rather the manner in which God saves them.10 As
described earlier in Romans 11, God has purposed to use the salvation of Gentiles
to arouse the Jews to jealousy that some of them might also turn to Christ and be
saved. This He will continue to do throughout the present age, and in this
manner—Paul writes in Rom 11:26— all the elect Jews within ethnic Israel will be
saved .
5
Wright, The Climax of the Covenant 250.
6
Irons, “Paul’s Theology of Israel’s Future” 102.
7
This is the view of Ben L. Merkle, “Romans 11 and the Future of Ethnic Israel,” Journal of the
Evangelical Theological Society 43 (2000):709–21; Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology, 4th ed. (Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994) 698–700; Robert L. Reymond, A New Systematic Theology of the Christian
Faith (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1998) 1024–30; Charles M. Horne, “The Meaning of the Phrase ‘And
Thus All Israel Shall Be Saved’ (Romans 11:26),” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 21
(1978):329–34; Robert B. Strimple, “Amillennialism,” in Three Views on the Millennium and Beyond,
ed. Darrell L. Bock (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999) 112–18; R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of
St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1936) 723–28; William Hendriksen,
Exposition of Paul’s Epistle to the Romans (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1981) 379–82; idem, Israel in
Prophecy (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1968) 32–57; Herman Bavinck, The Last Things: Hope for This World
and the Next, trans. John Vriend, ed. John Bolt (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1996) 104–7; Herman Hoeksema,
Reformed Dogmatics (Grand Rapids: Reformed Free, 1966) 788–95; Herman Ridderbos, Paul: An
Outline of His Theology 354–61; and Anthony A. Hoekema, The Bible and the Future (Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 1979) 139–47.
8
In the words of Berkhoff, “all Israel” is a designation “of the whole number of the elect out of the
ancient covenant people” (Berkhoff, Systematic Theology 699). In similar fashion, Hoeksema states that
the term “denotes the fullness of the elect Jews in the new dispensation” (Hoeksema, Reformed
Dogmatics 793).
9
Merkle, “Romans 11 and the Future of Ethnic Israel” 721.
10
Ibid., 719; Strimple, “Amillennialism” 116.
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View 3: “All Israel” Is the Nation
The third view is that “all Israel” in Rom 11:26 refers to the entire ethnic
nation of Israel.11 According to this interpretation, the current partial hardening of
Israel will persist until the end of the present age, when the fullness of the Gentiles
has come in. At that time, the divine hardening will be removed, and in this
manner— Paul writes in Rom 1 1:26— the ethnic nation of Israel as a whole will turn
to Christ and b e saved.
According to proponents of view 3, this eschatological salvation of the
nation of Israel is rooted in the Lord’s faithfulness to fulfill the covenantal promises
He made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.12 In other words, although the majority of
Israel is currently the object of God ’s rejection, He will not forsake His people but
has pledged, in accordance with his covenantal love, to grant them salvation at the
end of the present age.13
The difference in interpretation, then, is clear: Do es “all Israel” in Rom
11:26 refer to (1) Jews and Gentiles who make up the church and are saved
throughout the present age, (2) the elect remnant of believing Jew s within ethnic
Israel who a re save d throughout the present age, or (3) the ethnic nation of Israel
11
This is the view of F. F. Bruce, The Letter of Paul to the Romans: An Introduction and
Commentary, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, ed. Leon Morris (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1985)
209; William Sanday and Arthur C. Headlam, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to
the Romans, International Critical Commentary, ed. Charles A. Briggs, Samuel R. Driver, and Alfred
Plummer (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1905) 335–37; C. E. B. Cranfield, A Critical and
Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, vol. 2, International Critical Commentary, ed. J.
A. Emerton, C. E. B. Cranfield, and G. N. Stanton (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1983) 576–77; Robert H.
Mounce, Romans, vol. 27, New American Commentary, ed. E. Ray Clendenen (Nashville: Broadman
and Holman, 1995) 223–25; Douglas J. Moo, The Epistle to the Romans, New International Commentary
of the New Testament, ed. Ned B. Stonehouse, F. F. Bruce, and Gordon D. Fee (Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 1996) 719–26; Leon Morris, The Epistle to the Romans (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988)
420–22; James D. G. Dunn, Romans 9–16, vol. 38b, Word Biblical Commentaries, ed. David A.
Hubbard and Glenn W. Barker (Dallas: Word, 1988) 681–83, 691–93; Thomas R. Schreiner, Romans,
vol. 6, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, ed. Moisés Silva (Grand Rapids: Baker,
1998) 612–23; Robert L. Saucy, The Case for Progressive Dispensationalism: The Interface Between
Dispensational and Non-Dispensational Theology (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1993) 250–63; S. Lewis
Johnson, Jr., “Evidence from Romans 9–11,” in A Case for Premillennialism: A New Consensus, ed.
Donald K. Campbell and Jeffrey L. Townsend (Chicago: Moody, 1992) 199–223; Harold W. Hoehner,
“Israel in Romans 9–11,” in Israel, the Land and the People: An Evangelical Affirmation of God’s
Promises, ed. H. Wayne House (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1998) 145–67; Charles Hodge, Commentary on
the Epistle to the Romans (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994) 374; and Everett F. Harrison, “Romans,” in
The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976)
10:123–25.
12
13
Schreiner, Romans 626–27.
Ibid., 627. Among those who hold this third view, there is disagreement regarding the precise
meaning of the designation “all Israel.” Some believe it refers to the nation as a collective whole, not
including every single Israelite (e.g., Moo, The Epistle to the Romans 722–24; Morris, The Epistle to the
Romans 420–21; Hodge, Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans 374; Cranfield, A Critical and
Exegetical Commentary 576–77), and others believe it refers to every single Israelite alive at the time
of that salvation (e.g., Hoehner, “Israel in Romans 9–11” 155–56; James Kristian Brackett, “Paul’s Use
of the Old Testament in Romans 9–11” [Th.M. thesis, The Master’s Seminary, Sun Valley, Calif., 1998]
153–55).
The Dual Status of Israel in Romans 11:28
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which will be saved at the end of the present age?
View
Iden tity of “A ll Israel”
Timing of the Salvation
1
The Church
Througho ut Present Age
2
The Re mnant
Througho ut Present Age
3
The Nation
At End of Present Age
In other words, is “all Israel” the church, the remnant, or the nation?
THE SIGNIFICAN CE OF ROM ANS 11:28
As interpreters have wrestled with this question, various aspects of the
context of Romans 11 have received much attention. For example, proponents of all
three views ha ve exa mined Paul’s question in v. 1a and the answer he provides in vv.
1b-10; Paul’s second question in v. 11a and the answer he provides in vv. 11b-24;
Pau l’s use of :LFJZD4@< (myst‘ rion, “mystery”) in v. 25; Paul’s use of –PD4H
(ach ris, “until”) in v. 2 5; Paul’s use o f 6"Â @àJTH (kai houtÇ s, “and thus”) at the
beginning of v. 26 ; and the implica tions of Paul’s OT quotations in vv. 26b and 27.
Each of these issues is significant in determining the identity of the “all Israel” of
Rom 11 :26.
One verse in the immediate context, however, has direct bearing on the
identity of “all Israel” in Rom 11:26 and yet has not received the amount of attention
it deserves. T hat verse is Ro m 11 :28. T he purpose of this article is to examine Rom
11:28 and to determine its contribution to the debate over the identity of “all Israe l.”
In Rom 11:28, Paul writes, “From the standpoint of the gospel they are
enemies for the sake of you, b ut from the standpoint of God’s choice they are
beloved because of the fathers” (writer’s personal translation, 6"J :¥< JÎ
,Û"((X84@< ¦P2D@ *4’ ß:H, 6"J *¥ J¬< ¦68@(¬< •("B0J@ *4 J@×H
B"JXD"H, kata men to euan gelion ec hthroi di’ hyma s, kata de t‘ n eklog‘ n agap‘ toi
dia tous pateras). In this verse, Paul begins what may be viewed as a small, detached
paragraph in which he grounds and elaborates his prediction of the salvation of “all
Israel” two verses earlier.14 Although v. 28 begins with asynd eton and is no t formally
connected with the previous co ntext, an implicit conne ction is forged by the ne ed to
supp ly the subject of v. 28—“they” in the translation above—from v. 27.15 In other
words, “they” is not in the original and must be supplied. The antecedent of the
supplied “they” in v. 28 is “them” ( "ÛJ@ÃH , autois) in v. 27 , which re fers back to
“Jacob” (’3"6f$, IakÇ b) in v. 26b, which in turn refers back to “all Israel” ( BH
’3FD"Z8, pas Isra‘ l) in v. 26a. This is significant because it indicates that the group
of individuals described in v. 28 is the same group designated by the term “all Israel”
in v. 26. Put another way, Paul’s words in v. 28 describe the “all Israel” of v. 26 and
14
Moo, The Epistle to the Romans 729. Verses 28–29 form a paragraph, as do vv. 30–32, and the
two paragraphs function together, as Cranfield writes, to “draw out” and “sum up” the “implications of
the preceding verses” (Cranfield, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary 579).
15
Moo, The Epistle to the Romans 730.
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help to establish its identity.
For this reaso n, it is imperative to determine which of the three proposed
identities of “all Israel” in v. 26— the churc h, the remnant, or the nation— is most
accurately described in v. 28. Rightly understood, does Rom 1 1:28 describe the
church, the remnant, or the nation?
Romans 11:28 and View 1
In considering whether or not Rom 11:28 can be understood to describe the
church, two difficulties arise for view 1. First, the supplied subject of v. 28 (“they”)
is set in contrast to Gentiles (“you”) in this verse and therefore must refer exclusively
to ethnic Jews. 16 In the first clause of v. 28, the people in question are described as
“enemies for the sake of you” (¦P2D@ *4’ ß:H, echthroi di’ hymas). Because Paul
uses the second person to refer exclusively to Gen tiles throughout 11:11–32,17 his
use of the pronoun hymas (“you”) in v. 28 must also refer to Gentiles, and the
“enemies” must therefore refer to ethnic Jews. In other words, the idea o f the first
half of v. 28 is this: “From the standpoint of the gospel they [ethnic Jews] are
enemies for the sake of you [Gentiles].” The “all Israel” of v. 26, in turn, must also
be exclusively Jewish, which precludes the interpretation that equates “all Israe l”
with the church, for the ch urch o bviously contains Gentiles.
This distinction between Jews and Gentiles is the same one Paul has been
maintaining throughout the chapter. In fact, his point in the first half of v. 28 is a
general summ ary of statements made earlier in Romans 11. In v. 11 Paul writes that
Israel’s transgression was the means by which salvation came to the Gentiles; in v.
12 he writes that Israel’s transgression and failure resulted in riches for the Gentiles;
in v. 15 he writes that Israel’s rejection resulted in the reconciliation of Gentiles; and
here in v. 28 Paul sums up these ideas b y stating that those unbelievers who comp rise
the ethnic nation of Israel are enemies of God “for the sake of”—o r “with a view to
16
Schreiner, Romans 615. Schreiner here borrows from Hafemann, who writes, “Rom 11:28 is
especially important in this regard since it makes clear that the Israel of 11:26 must be ethnic Israel, since
it is clearly ethnic Israelites who are ‘enemies for the sake of the Gentiles’ in 11:28a …” (Scott
Hafemann, “The Salvation of Israel in Romans 11:25–32: A Response to Krister Stendahl,” Ex Auditu
4 [1988]:53).
17
Paul’s use of the second person in reference to Gentiles as distinguished from Jews can be seen
in the following second-person pronouns and second-person verbs throughout this section: ß:Ã< in v.
13; Fb in v. 17; 6"J"6"LPä in v. 18; Fb in v. 18; FX in v. 18; ¦D,ÃH in v. 19; Fb in v. 20; ªFJ06"H in
v. 20; ND`<,4 in v. 20; F@Ø in v. 21; FX in v. 22; ¦B4:X<®H in v. 22; Fb in v. 22; ß:H in v. 25; ß:,ÃH
in v. 30; ²B,42ZF"J, in v. 30; ²8,Z2"J, in v. 30; and ß:,JXDå in v. 31. Every time Paul uses the
second person, he does so in reference to Gentiles, and his use of ß:H in v. 28 is no exception. In
contrast, he consistently uses the third person to refer to ethnic Jews: §BJ"4F"< in v. 11; BXFTF4< in
v. 11; "ÛJä< in v. 11; "ÛJ@bH in v. 11; "ÛJä< in v. 12; "ÛJä< in v. 12; "ÛJä< in v. 14; "ÛJä< in v.
15; "ÛJ@ÃH in v. 17; ¦>,68VF20F"< in v. 20; 66,Ã<@4 in v. 23; ¦B4:X<TF4< in v. 23;
¦(6,<JD4F2ZF<J"4 in v. 23; "ÛJ@bH in v. 23; "ÛJ@ÃH in v. 27; "ÛJä< in v. 27; J@bJT< in v. 30;
²B,\F20F"< in v. 31; "ÛJ@\ in v. 31; and ¦8,02äF4< in v. 31.
The Dual Status of Israel in Romans 11:28
63
the advantag e of” 18— the Gentiles. 19 Again, the individuals described in v. 28 must
be exclusively Jewish, and therefore so must the “all Israel” of v. 26. This simply
will not allow for the interpretation proposed by proponents of view 1, which sees
“all Israel” as including G entiles.
The second reason that v. 28 poses a problem for view 1 is that the two
clauses in this verse simply cannot be said to describe the church. The plac e to begin
in considering v. 28 is the unmistakably parallel structure of its two clauses:
6"J :¥< JÎ ,Û"((X84@<
¦P2D@Â
*4’ ß:H
kata men to euangelion
“acco rding to the go spel”
echthroi
“enemies”
di’ hymas
“for the sake of you”
6"J *¥ J¬< ¦68@(¬<
kata de t‘ n eklog‘ n
•("B0J@Â
agapat‘ toi
*4 J@×H B"JXD"H
“according to election”
“beloved”
dia tous pateras
“because of the fathers”
The basic meaning of these two clauses is that on one hand the individuals
who comprise the “all Israel” of v. 26 are enemies of God, and yet on the other hand
they are beloved by Him. From the standpoint of their rejection of the gospel, they
are His enemies, and this for the sake of the Gentiles. But from the standpoint of
Go d’s election of them, they are beloved by Him, and this because o f God’s
promises to the Jewish patriarchs (“the fathers”). This is what has been called the
“dual status” 20 of Israel, for it sets forth two apparently contradictory descriptions of
the people, and yet both descriptions are simultaneously true of them.21
Put simply, it is difficult—if not imp ossible—to understand these two
clauses as describing the church. In what sense can those in the Body of Christ be
described as the “en emies” of G od? Paul says in v. 28 that these individuals are
enemies from the standpoint of the gospel (kata to euangelion), but it is specifically
because of the gospel and their reception of it that believers are not Go d’s enemies.
Some proponents of view 1 interpret v. 28 as a description of ethnic Jews. 22
The dilemma for these interpreters is that they must do one o f two things to maintain
their position. Either they must deny that the supplied subject of v. 28 ultimately
18
Cranfield, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary 581.
19
Paul reiterates the concept again in vv. 30–31 where, in both verses, he says that the disobedience
of the Jews led to mercy for the Gentiles.
20
Moo, The Epistle to the Romans 729. In similar fashion, Dunn refers to it as the “double status”
of Israel (Dunn, Romans 9–16 693).
21
This is indicated by Paul’s use of the correlative conjunctions :X< … *X, which express the idea:
“On the one hand … but on the other hand” (see Daniel B. Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics:
An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996] 672).
22
Robertson, The Israel of God 189–90; Calvin, Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans 440;
Anders Nygren, Commentary on Romans, trans. Carl C. Rasmussen (Philadelphia: Muhlenberg, 1949)
404-5.
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refers back to the “all Israel” of v. 26,23 or they must contend that the “all Israel” of
v. 26 inc ludes Gentiles even though it specifically excludes them when it is described
in v. 28. Neither of these two optio ns is defensible.
Other proponents of view 1 interpret v. 28 as a description of the church.24
For these interpreters, the two insurmountable problems described above remain.
First, the contrast in v. 28 between the subject of the sentence and the second-person
pronoun ß:H— which must refer to Gentiles—indicates that the subjec t is
exclusively Jewish. Second, it is not possible to describe the church as consisting of
individuals who are enemies of God. 25 Rom 11:28 , in other words, precludes view
1 as an interpretive possibility.
Romans 11:28 and View 2
Because Rom 11:28 indicates that the “all Israel” o f Rom 11:2 6 is
exclusively Jewish, view 2— which sees “all Israel” as the Jewish remnant—begins
as a distinct possib ility.26 Add ing further supp ort, some pro ponents of view 2 believe
Rom 11:28 specifically points to the remnant interpretation of “all Israe l,” insisting
that the verse describes those who were once God’s enemies but who are now
beloved by Him. For example, according to Lenski, Rom 11:28 is a fitting
description of the elect remnant within the nation of Israel—those who were at first
“enemies” (echthroi) because of their personal hostility to the gospel are described
as “beloved” (agap‘ toi) when regarded according to God’s election of them.27 In
similar fashion, Hend riksen notes, “these ‘enemies’ and these ‘beloved ones’ are the
same people, namely, the elect. At first they were hostile to the gospel, but later on,
because of the wonderful manifestation of God’s mercy … they beco me friends.” 28
In other words, the first clause describes the elect prior to their conversion, while the
second describes them after. Hendriksen explains:
23
Such a denial would require that the antecedent of the supplied “they” in v. 28 is not “them”
("ÛJ@ÃH) in v. 27a, “Jacob” (’3"6f$) in v. 26b, or “all Israel” (BH ’3FD"Z8) in v. 26a, but rather
“Israel” (’3FD"Z8) in v. 25. To say that the subject of v. 28 refers to “Israel” in v. 25 rather than these
closer antecedents seems more than a bit arbitrary.
24
Karl Barth, The Epistle to the Romans, trans. Edwyn C. Hoskyns (New York: Oxford University,
1950) 418–19. This also appears to be the position of Irons (“Paul’s Theology of Israel’s Future” 121),
although it is difficult to be certain.
25
Barth interprets v. 28 as a description of individuals who, though once vessels of God’s wrath,
become vessels of His mercy (Barth, The Epistle to the Romans 419). The problem with this
interpretation is that Paul’s use of the correlative conjunctions :¥< and *¥ indicate that these individuals
are simultaneously “enemies” (¦P2D@Â) and “beloved” (•("B0J@Â). This point will be addressed further
in the discussion of view 2 below.
26
In this way, view 2 manages to escape at least one of the difficulties of view 1.
27
Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Paul’s Epistle 732–33. Commenting on Rom 11:29, Lenski
writes, “Paul explains how Jews who are at first enemies of the gospel are yet allowed eventually to
become beloved of God” (ibid., 734).
28
Hendriksen, Romans 384. The only other possible explanation for proponents of view 2 is to say
that Paul switches subject mid-verse—from the Jews who are God’s enemies in light of the gospel, to
Jews who are beloved by God as elect members of the remnant—which is quite improbable (Moo, The
Epistle to the Romans 731).
The Dual Status of Israel in Romans 11:28
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The same Jews who at one time had been enemies of the gospel had become friends,
beloved of God and fellow-believers. This great change had been brought about because
of the fact that these former enemies had been designed by God, in his eternal decree, to
become friends.29
The difficulty with this understanding of Rom 11 :28 (and therefore the
difficulty with view 2 in genera l) is that the two clauses in this verse—kata men to
euangelion echthroi di’ hymas and kata de t‘ n eklog‘ n agap‘ toi dia tous
pateras—set forth two descriptions of Israe l, and both descriptions are true of them
at the same time. This is indicate d by P aul’s use of the correlative co njunctions men
… de, which express the idea: “On the one hand … but on the othe r hand .” 30 In other
words, Paul’s use of the correlative con junctions indicates that these individuals are
simu ltaneously “enemies” and “beloved,” not enemies for a time and then later
beloved.
Had Paul intended to refer to a people who were previously enemies but
who are now beloved, he would not have used the combination “on the one hand …
but on the other hand”). Instead, it would be more likely for him to have used the
combin ation B@JX … <Ø< (pote … nun, “formerly … now”) or B@JX … <Ø< *X
(pote … nun de, “forme rly … but now” ), for Paul often uses this co mbination to
highlight the contrast be tween the pre -conversion past and the post-conversion
present. For example:
Rom 11:30: “For just as you once [pote] were disobedient to God, but now [nun
de] have been shown mercy bec ause o f their diso bed ience… .”
Gal 1:23: “… but only, they kept hearing, ‘He who once [pote] persecuted us is
now [nun] prea ching the faith which he once tried to d estroy.’”
Eph 2:11 -13: “T herefo re rem emb er, that form erly [pote] you, the G entiles in the
flesh, who are called ‘Uncircumcision’ by the so-called ‘Circumcision,’
which is performed in the flesh by human hands—remember that you were
at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwea lth of
Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and
without Go d in the w orld. But now [nuni de] in Christ Jesus yo u who
formerly were far off have be en brought near b y the blood o f Christ.”
Eph 5:8a: “For you were form erly [pote] darkness, but now [nun de] you are
light in the Lord.”
Col 1:21-22a: “And although you were form erly [pote] alienated and hostile in
mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now [nun de] reco nciled you in His
fleshly bo dy through death… .”
29
Hendriksen, Romans 384.
30
See Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics 672.
66
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Col 3:7-8: “ … and in them you also once [pote] walked, when you were living
in them. But now [nuni de] you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath,
malice , slander, and abusive spe ech fro m your mouth.”
Phile 10-11: “I appeal to you for my child, whom I have begotten in my
imprisonm ent, Onesimus, who form erly [pote] was useless to you, but now
[nuni de] is useful both to yo u and to me.” 31
Other times, P aul employs a different com binatio n to indicate the temporal contrast
between the pre-conversio n past and the post-conve rsion p resent. For example, in
Rom 7:5-6, he uses the imp erfect active ind icative o f ,Æ:\ ( µ:,<, ‘ men, “we were”)
in combination with nuni de (“but now”):
Rom 7:5-6: “For while we were [‘ men] in the flesh, the sinful passions, which
were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear
fruit for de ath. But now [nuni de] we have been released from the Law,
having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness
of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.” 32
Elsewhere he establishes the same temporal contrast with the com binatio n of J`J,
(tote, “at that time”) and <Ø< *X (nun de, “but now”):
Gal 4:8-9: “However at that time [tote], when you did not know God , you were
slaves to those which by nature are no gods. But now [nun de] that you
have come to know God, or rather to be known by Go d, how is it that you
turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you
desire to be enslaved all over again?”
In Rom 11:28, however, rather than using one of these (or a similar
combination) to establish a contrast between the pre -conversion past and the p ostconversion present of the individua ls in question, Paul uses the correlative
conjunctions men … de to indicate two simultaneously existing states. Romans
11:28, therefore, cannot refer to individuals who were once enem ies prio r to their
conversion but who are now be loved after their conversion— as view 2 says it
does— and view 2 canno t be co nsidered a plausib le interpretation of the “all Israel”
in Rom 11 :26.
31
This combination is used in 1 Peter 2:10 to set up the same contrast: “… for you once [B@JX]
were not a people, but now [<Ø< *X] you are the people of God; you had not received [perfect passive
participle of ¦8,t,T] mercy, but now [<Ø< *X] you have received [aorist passive participle of ¦8,t,T]
mercy.”
32
This is similar to the way Peter establishes the same temporal contrast in 1 Pet 2:25: “For you
were [µte, imperfect active indicative of ,Æ:\] continually straying like sheep, but now [•88 … <Ø<]
you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls” (cf. Rom 6:17).
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Romans 11:28 and View 3
In contrast with the first two views, the dual status of “all Israel” as
portrayed in Rom 11:28 fits perfectly with the interpretation of view 3, the view that
sees “all Israel” as a reference to the nation of Israel as a whole. This can be seen by
considering the first half of the dual status in v. 28a, the second half the dual status
in v. 28b, and the ground of that status in v. 29.
The First Half of Israel’s Dual Status (v. 28a)
According to view 3, Israe l presently exists in a state in which a majo rity
of the nation of is hardened (Rom 11:25 ).33 This majority has rejected the Messiah,
a rejection that is d escribed in Romans 11 as a stumbling ( §BJ"4F"<, eptaisan) in
v. 11, “their transgression” (B"D"BJf:"J4 "ÛJä<, parapto) ma ti auto) n) in v. 11,
“their transgression” ( B"DVBJT:", parapto) ma) in v. 12 , and “their rejection”
( •B@$@8Z, apobole) ) in v. 15.34 Paul describes this present state of hardening in the
first clause of Rom 11:28, where he refers to the nation of Israel as G od’s
enemies— those who stand under His enmity and displeasure.35 They are enemies,
Paul writes, “according to the gospel” ( 6"J :¥< JÎ ,Û"((X84@<, kata m en to
euangelion). The prepo sition 6"JV (kata) here indicates the norm or the standard
“according to which a judgment is rendered” 36 and therefore “defines the rule by
which God ’s relation to Israel is de termined.” 37 In other words, when regarded
accord ing to their rejection of the gospel, they are conside red G od’s enem ies.38
Paul continues this first clause and writes that they are enemies “for the sake
of you” (*4’ ß:H, di’ hymas). The second-person pronoun here refers to Ge ntile
believers, as it doe s throughout the chapter. P aul’s po int is that Israel’s rejection of
the gospel was not without bene fit—it was “for the sake of” or “with a view to the
33
That the present hardening of Israel is only partial and does not extend to every individual in the
nation is argued in Rom 11:1-10 and stated explicitly in Rom 11:25.
34
This rejection of Messiah and the salvation found in Him can also be seen earlier in Paul’s
argument, specifically in Rom 9:30-33; 10:2-3, 19-21; 11:7-10.
35
Schreiner, Romans 625. Although there has been some debate about whether the term ¦P2D@Â
(“enemies”) should be understood passively (i.e., the Jews are objects of God’s hostility) or actively (the
Jews are hostile to God), it should be taken passively, for it stands parallel to •("B0J@ (“beloved”),
which is passive (i.e., “loved by God”) (ibid.; Morris, The Epistle to the Romans 422; Mounce, Romans
225; Cranfield, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary 580). At the same time, as Schreiner notes,
“Enmity by God necessarily implies that the people involved also hate God (cf. 9:30–10:21), for the idea
that those who are God’s enemies loved God is inconceivable for Paul …” (Schreiner, Romans 625).
36
Walter Bauer, Frederick W. Danker, William F. Arndt, and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English
Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., rev. and ed. Frederick W.
Danker (Chicago: University of Chicago, 2000) 512.
37
James Denney, “St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans,” in The Expositor’s Greek Testament, vol. 2,
ed. W. Robertson Nicoll (reprint; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974) 684.
38
According to Moo, “‘Enemies according to the gospel’ succinctly summarizes the point that Paul
has made in 9:30–10:21: through their failure to respond to the revelation of God’s righteousness in
Christ, the heart of the gospel, Israel as a whole has failed to attain the eschatological salvation
manifested in the gospel” (Moo, The Epistle to the Romans 730).
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advantage of” the Gentiles.39 “All Israel,” in other words, is presently the enemy of
God, but this rejection has led to the salvation of Gentiles (see Rom 11:11–12, 15).
The unbelieving Jew s that make up the nation of Israel, then, are enem ies according
to the gospel and for the sake of the Gentiles. This is the first half of Israel’s dual
status.
The Second Half of Israel’s Dual Status (v. 28b)
At the same time, ho wever, Pau l writes that they are no t only enemies of
God, they are also beloved by Him. In the sec ond clause in v. 28, the apostle again
uses two prepositional phrases to explain Israel’s status. First he writes that they are
beloved “according to election” ( 6"J *¥ J¬< ¦68@(¬<, kata de t‘ n eklog‘ n). Here
Paul uses the preposition kata in the same way he did in the first clause of the
verse— to indicate the norm or the standard “according to which a judgm ent is
rendered” 40 and therefore to define “the rule by which God’s re lation to Israel is
determined .” 41 The phrase “according to election” (kata de t‘ n eklog‘ n), then,
indicates that although they are considered enemies when regarded acco rding to their
rejection of the gospel, they are considered beloved when regarded acco rding to
Go d’s choice— His corporate election of Israel as His chosen nation.42 As Murray
notes, the word “belove d” indicates “that G od has not suspended or rescind ed his
relation to Israel as his chosen people in terms of the covenants made with the
fathers.” 43 Israel, although hardened and unbelieving, is still God ’s chosen and
beloved nation. 44
39
This, according to Cranfield, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary 581, is the meaning of the
preposition *4V in the first clause of v. 28.
40
Bauer, Danker, Arndt, and Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon 512.
41
Denney, “St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans” 684.
42
It is significant to recognize that “Paul is talking about the place of the nation in God’s plan, not
the fate of individuals” (Morris, The Epistle to the Romans 423). In other words, the apostle refers here
in v. 28 not to the choice of specific individuals unto salvation, but rather to the choice of the nation as
a corporate entity (see Moo, The Epistle to the Romans 731–32, and John Murray, The Epistle to the
Romans [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1968] 100–101). In the words of Schreiner, “The word ¦68@(Z<
refers to the electing work of God by which he has chosen Israel to be his people” (Schreiner, Romans
625–26). In similar fashion, Cranfield writes, “By ‘election’ here is meant the election of the people as
a whole (cf. v. 2), not that election which distinguishes within Israel (cf. vv. 5 and 7) and which is itself
a pointer to the election of the people as a whole” (Cranfield, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary
580).
43
44
Murray, The Epistle to the Romans 101.
As Morris writes, God “had not forgotten that Israel was his people; their refusal to accept the
gospel did not alter the fact that he had chosen them to be in a special relationship to him” (Morris, The
Epistle to the Romans 423). Lenski, a proponent of view 2, objects to view 3’s interpretation of the
“beloved” in Rom 11:28, writing, “Why is ‘beloved’ and this peculiar consideration of the fathers absent
today, and why was it absent during all the past centuries? And where is ‘beloved’ used with reference
to any persons but believers? No; the hardened mass is not ‘Israel’ …” (Lenski, The Interpretation of St.
Paul’s Epistle 734). The answer to Lenski’s first two questions is that—as explained above—the
“beloved” status of unbelieving Israel is not absent today. In answer to his third question, the entire
nation of Israel was considered beloved by God in the OT, even though not every individual in the nation
was a genuine believer. For example, in Deut 7:7-8, Moses writes, “The Lord did not set His love on you
nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were fewest of all
The Dual Status of Israel in Romans 11:28
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Paul emphasizes this point further with the second prep ositional phra se in
this clause—“because of the fathers” ( *4 J@×H B"JXD"H, dia tous pateras).45 The
word “fathers” is a reference to the patriarchs of Israel—Abraham , Isaac, and
Jacob46— and more specifically to the covenant promis es God made to them.47 As
Morris writes, “Paul is appealing to the covenant God had made with Abraham and
the promises he had mad e again and again to Abraham ’s descendants.” 48 The essence
of this second clause, then, is that when regarded according to the standpoint of
Go d’s corp orate election of the nation, “all Israel” is beloved by God because of the
covenant prom ises He made to Abraham , Isaac, and Ja cob.
peoples, but because the Lord loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the Lord
brought you out by a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of
Pharaoh king of Egypt.” This is the same love that Paul refers to in Rom 11:28 and is a love that
continues to this day.
45
Although Paul’s use of the preposition *4V in the second clause is parallel to his use of the same
preposition in the first clause, the two uses of the preposition carry slightly different nuances (Dunn,
Romans 9–16 684; Cranfield, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary 580). In the first clause *4V has
a final sense and means “for the sake of,” but in the second clause it has a causal sense and means
“because of.” Put another way, the first use of the preposition looks forward and the second looks
backward (ibid.).
46
The word is used the same way in Rom 9:5.
47
As Moo writes, “In saying that God’s love for Israel is ‘based on’ the patriarchs, Paul is not of
course suggesting that the patriarchs have done anything to merit God’s love for themselves or their
descendants. As Gal. 3 and Rom. 4 make clear, the significance of Abraham and the other patriarchs in
the plan of salvation rests not on their own actions but on the gracious promises that God has made to
them. So it is not because of the patriarchs in and of themselves that the Jews are still beloved; it is
because of the promises God made to them. As it is by the standard of the gospel that the Jews are now
judged to be enemies of God, so it is by the standard of ‘election’ that they are loved by God” (The
Epistle to the Romans 731). In similar fashion, Mounce writes, “Paul was not supporting the idea that
merit is passed on from the patriarchs to their descendants. But they were the ones who received his call
(Gen 12:1–2; Deut 7:6–7), and it was to them that he first gave his gifts. And God’s gifts and call are
irrevocable…. He does not change his mind regarding the nation he called and sustained with gracious
acts of provision and protection” (Mounce, Romans 225–26).
Opponents of view 3 often claim that it undermines the unconditional nature of God’s sovereign
election by affirming ethnicity is the basis for the salvation of Israel. This, however, is not the case.
“Israel’s ancestry does not amount to a claim on God. God freely pledged to bestow his grace upon Israel
as an expression of his lovingkindness” (Schreiner, Romans 627). In other words, “Israel is beloved
because God is faithful to His own love, which in His sovereign freedom He bestowed upon the fathers
on no other ground than His love, which knows no cause outside itself (cf. Deut. 7:7f)” (Cranfield, A
Critical and Exegetical Commentary 581). The insights of Piper are helpful: “Since God’s free and
unconstrained election of Israel from all the nations of the earth (Deut 7:6) embraced from the outset his
intention to bless Israel for centuries in unique ways among the nations and in the last days to purify and
save the whole people, his fulfillment of this intention is just as free from human constraints as the initial
election of Abraham. We may infer from Rom 9:6ff that God has employed four thousand years of
redemptive history to teach that he is free and not bound to save anyone because of his Jewishness nor
to condemn anyone because of his non-Jewishness. Can he not at the end of the age, having
demonstrated his freedom beyond the shadow of a doubt, bring his free and sovereign election of Israel
to a climax by banishing ungodliness from Jacob and saving the whole people?” (John Piper, The
Justification of God: An Exegetical and Theological Study of Romans 9:1-23, 2d ed. [Grand Rapids:
Baker, 1983] 27). Can He not, in other words, have mercy on whom He desires (Rom 9:14–18)?
48
Morris, The Epistle to the Romans 423.
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The Ground of Israel’s Dual Status (v. 29)
To supp ort his assertion that Israel is still beloved by God as His chosen
nation, Paul provides in v. 29 a reason for his assertion in v. 28b.49 He writes: “For
the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (•:,J":X80J" (D J
P"D\F:"J" 6" º 68­F4H J@Ø 2,@Ø, ametamel‘ ta ga r ta charism ata kai h‘ kl‘ sis
tou theou). Although Paul does not define what he means by “gifts” (ta charism ata)
in this context, it is likely that he uses the word to summarize those privileges of
Israel enumerated in Rom 9:4–5.50 The “calling” (kl‘ sis) of God, however, is clear,
for it “refers to the election according to which the Jews are beloved .” 51 In other
words, it refers to “Go d’s calling of Israel to be His special people, to stand in a
special relation to Himself, and to fulfil a sp ecial function in history.” 52
Pau l’s point in v. 29 is that the gifts and calling of God are “irrevocable”
(ametamel‘ ta). This adjective, which Paul places at the beginning of the verse for
emphasis, is best translated “irrevocable,” for it describes something that “one does
not take bac k.” 53 How can Paul’s readers be certain that Israel is still considered
beloved by God when regard ed from the standpoint of His choice of them? B ecause
God does not take back His promises—His gifts to Israel and His calling of Israel
to be H is chosen nation are irrevocable. As M oo states, this word “emphasizes the
point that Paul made at the beginning of his argument: ‘The word of God has not
failed’ (9:6a)…. Israel still has a place in God’s plan because Go d is faithful.” 54 In
other words, “God has not abandoned the promises given to the fathers; they have
not been nu llified by Israel’s unb elief; Go d is still faithful.” 55
According to M oo,
Paul’s assertion of Israel’s dual status in v. 28 succinctly summarizes the dilemma that
drives the whole argument of these chapters: the Israel now at enmity with God because
of the gospel is nevertheless the Israel to whom God has made irrevocable promises of
blessing. In broad terms, as 9:30–10:21 has elaborated the former, negative side of this
dilemma, so 9:6b–29 and 11:1–27 have explained the second, positive side.56
49
The conjunction (VD that introduces v. 29 is causal.
50
Moo, The Epistle to the Romans 732; cf. Murray, The Epistle to the Romans 101.
51
Moo, The Epistle to the Romans 732. Moo explains the relationship between the “gifts” of God
and the “calling” of God like this: “The ‘gifts’ may then be combined with ‘call’ as one idea—‘the
benefits of God’s call’—or be taken as a distinct category—‘the gifts and the call of God.’ … God’s
‘call,’ then, is probably to be seen as one of the most important of those gifts: ‘the gifts and especially,
among those gifts, the call of God’” (ibid.).
52
Cranfield, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary 581. In this way, the “calling” of God in v. 29
serves as a synonym of the “choice” of God in v. 28.
53
Bauer, Danker, Arndt, and Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon 53.
54
Moo, The Epistle to the Romans 732.
55
Dunn, Romans 9–16 694. Morris puts it this way: “God does not change his mind after he has
made gifts or issued calls. He does not take them back. What God has done and said stands” (The Epistle
to the Romans 423).
56
Moo, The Epistle to the Romans 729–30.
The Dual Status of Israel in Romans 11:28
71
In similar fashion, Murray writes,
Israel are both “enemies” and “beloved” at the same time, enemies as regards the gospel,
beloved as regards the election. This contrast means that by their rejection of the gospel
they have been cast away and the gospel had been given to the Gentiles but that
nevertheless by reason of election and on account of their relation to the fathers they were
beloved…. “Beloved” thus means that God has not suspended or rescinded his relation
to Israel as his chosen people in terms of the covenants made with the fathers. Unfaithful
as Israel have been and broken off for that reason, yet God still sustains his peculiar
relation of love to them, a relation that will be demonstrated and vindicated in the
restoration (vss. 12, 15, 26).57
The description of “all Israel” in Rom 11:28, then, not only indicates that
the unbelieving nation as a whole is in view, but also points to the fact that that
nation will one day be restored. God made specific promises to the nation of Israel,
and her refusal to embrace Christ and the gospel did not mean that the gospel had
failed or that God would fail to fulfill those p romises. In the w ords of Bloesch: “His
rejection of his people is not final but only provisional. In the No of God’s rejection
is hidden the Y es of his election.” 58 All Israel will be saved.
CONCLUSION
It is clear that only the interpretation of view 3 corresponds to the dual
status of “all Israe l” as po rtrayed in Rom 11 :28, for only this interpretation envisions
a scenario in which b oth clauses of the verse are simultaneo usly and presently true
of the entity “all Israel.” On the one hand the unbelieving nation of Israel is an
enemy of God, but on the other she is beloved by Him. W hen the partial hardening
of Israel is removed at the end of the present age (Rom 11 :25), her present
“transgression” will give way to her “fulfillment” (Rom 11:12); her present
“rejection” will give way to her “acceptance” (Rom 11:15); and the natural branches
will be grafted back in (Rom 11:23-24). And in this manner, all Israel will be saved
in accordance with Go d’s covenantal love and in fulfillment of His promises (Rom
11:26-27). Go d has not, and will not, forsake His chosen nation.
57
58
Murray, The Epistle to the Romans 100–101.
Donald G. Bloesch, “‘All Israel Will Be Saved’: Supersessionism and the Biblical Witness,”
Interpretation 43 (1989):134.